Truck drivers and other persons working around a stopped truck or other vehicle are often at risk from hazards posed by other vehicles operating in the area, including regular vehicle traffic, construction vehicle traffic, cargo-unloading vehicle traffic, and the like. The risk posed by other vehicular traffic can further cause a person outside of a vehicle to place themselves in positions intended to reduce their exposure to the risks posed by other vehicles but may increase their exposure to other risks. These other risks can include operating on top of a stopped vehicle or the cargo load on the vehicle, for example, during securing a cargo load or unloading cargo, with the increased risks associated with climbing and falling from an increased height. Typical safety measures used around stopped trucks or other vehicles often include movable pylons (also referred to as traffic cones) or other temporary signs placed on the ground. These types of safety measures are generally low in height. For example, a common traffic cone height is about 28 inches. Safety measures placed on the ground or located near ground level around a stopped vehicle are unlikely to sufficiently raise the awareness of nearby vehicle operators to the potential presence of a person around the outside of the stopped vehicle. Moreover, nearby vehicle operators may generally be desensitized to the configurations of many typical safety measures such as cones or signs. Human safety measures such as flaggers are sometimes employed in high activity, high risk situations, and nearby vehicle operators may be more likely to respond appropriately to the presence of a human operator. While use of a human flagger may provide an increased response in nearby vehicle operators, it also poses a high risk to the flagger. Systems and methods of producing increased nearby vehicle operator awareness of the potential presence of a person around the outside of a stopped vehicle are desirable.
The present disclosure provides systems and methods of deploying a humanoid profile safety sign from a stopped vehicle, thereby increasing nearby vehicle operator awareness of the potential presence of a person in the vicinity of the stopped vehicle.